Stew Harris stepped up to PRO and Aiden Molesky, Dan Miller, and Reed Wescott stepped up to help him. Here is Stew’s report:
That was a seriously fluky day but we got one race off with some pressure that diminished mid race. A 90-degree shift to the east as we began the sequence for albacores left us with a reaching drag race. I preferred to get that first race off instead of further delay to reset.
Not my best work but the pressure continued to fall at noon (1-4 at airport) and just did not support race 2.
The 96th PRSA President’s Cup will take place on the Potomac River September 19-20, 2026!
Fall means One Design racing returns to the Potomac River with the President’s Cup being the highlight of the season. Last year 33 boats lined up for two great days of racing and post sail comradery. Let’s get even more this year! Fly overs by commercial jets guaranteed all day!
Kaitlyn Lucey, Tyler Philips, Lilly Anderson, and Eliza Pearce ran the races. Laura Albert submitted the check-ins and race results. From the DNFs, it appears it was a very light wind day.
No races were held. Aidan Molesky and a helper were there to run the line boat but no one signed up to run the mark boat. And only three sailors came to race: one Albacores (Goethert) and two Lightnings (Astrove and Pedersen). Many of the Albacores were on the Eastern Shore for an invitational regatta.
Mike Scardaville, Laura Albert, Dan Miller and Nic Brogen ran the races.
The wind was shifty and very light. Attendance was also light, in part because most of the Lightning fleet was away at the Potomac Cup at Leesylvania State Park and a group of Albacore sailors were running the races there.
Just getting up to the race course against the current proved to be a challenge. Five Albacores and one Lightning made it and the RC was able to start one race before the wind died. Albacore sailors Kaitlyn Lucey and Aidan Molesky demonstrated their mastery of light wind sailing and the ability to find and string together small, sporadic puffs to finish the race. The other boats were finished in place.
Kudos to all the sailors that persevered in less than ideal conditions. A big thank you to Georgetown for lending their race boats and to Pete Fanta who generously offered to help the RC with the boats after he had just returned from Nationals the night before.
And welcome to new Lightning Fleet skipper and member Ron Frerkner.
The competitors and the race committee. 12 boats registered and 9 sailed. They came from Susequehanna, Havre de Grace, Annapolis, and the DC Lightning fleets.
The PRSA Lightning Fleet had their annual invitational regatta at Leesylvania State Park on May 30 and 31 — the 40th Anniversary of the Dillard-Gilbert Potomac Cup.
The Albacore Fleet ran the races: Jim Graham at PRO, Barney Harris as Mark Boat Captain with assistant Dan Miller on Saturday and Mike Chabala on Sunday. Maryann Gallagher help Jim Graham on the line boat both days. They did a super job.
The weather on Saturday was sporty. The winds were in the mid to high teens with gusts up into the mid 20s. The wind from the north came down a long fetch and set up big waves that were surfable even on a Lightning but also could get the heart pounding. There was only one capsize.
The weather on Sunday was much much calmer, maybe bit too calm. But the RC got off two races for us. So, in a sense, perfect weather for a regatta – a range of wind and waves to test the skills of the sailors.
Trevor Prior from the Susquehanna Yacht Club is the Potomac Cup Champion for 2026. The local team of Nabeel Alsalam (me), Tom Hutton, and Ryan Barone were one point behind after day 1 but had an OCS and fell another point behind on day 2, but was that enough to finish second.
Trevor Prior and team from Susquehanna Yacht ClubNabeel Alsalam, Ryan Barone, and Tom Hutton from PRSASusan Humphrey (pictured) and Red Fehrle were on shore and drilled out steak, salmon, and portobello mushroom dinner
At Leesylvania State Park about 20 miles south of DC. The Potomac is 2.5 miles wide there. The park has two cranes and two ramps. We have the Pavillion for our use and camping next to it is an option if you want to avoid a bunch of driving.
